News

Champaign County -

State Auditor Mary Taylor released the audit of the Village of Mutual today reporting that village officials destroyed crucial financial information and gave themselves improper pay increases.

The audit found that bank statements, cancelled checks and tax receipts for 2004 were missing or destroyed. Taylor recommends that trustees follow the township’s record retention schedule when disposing of public records.

“Village officials must keep proper records of their financial activity in accordance with state law and their established record retention schedules.” Taylor said. “The failure to do so increases the potential of misspending or theft of public funds.”

Taylor said the village’s fiscal officer, mayor and three council members were overpaid totaling $1,354. Trustees passed motions giving the officials pay raises but state law says the increases can not go into effect during a village officer’s current term. The amount was repaid prior to the release of the audit.

The Ohio Auditor of State’s Office is one of the largest accounting offices in the nation.  The Office strives to ensure that all public funds are spent legally and appropriately and works aggressively to root out fraud, waste and abuse in public spending. Taylor encourages anyone suspecting fraud or misspending of public dollars to contact her office toll free at 1-866-FRAUD-OH (1-866-372-8364).

A copy of the full audit is available online at http://www.auditor.state.oh.us/AuditSearch/Reports/2007/Village_of_Mutual_05_04-Champaign.pdf.